It’s that time of year when people pull out their Top, Best Of and Year in Review lists. All for jumping on the bandwagon, I decided to pull together three lists that recap my year in wine blogging. In this post I share my favorite articles across the bloggersphere, top wine stories, and my favorite post from each month of 2010. Later this week, I’ll reveal my top 10 value wines (under $15) and the top 10 wines of the year. January 2010 One of the earlier wine blogs I connected with was Joe Roberts from 1winedude.com. Joe’s interview with […]

November 23 and 24 were the punctuation mark on a long cool growing season for Washington grape growers. With temperatures plunging from 30 degrees to -4 degrees and lower in a matter of a few days, vineyard managers were scrambling. As wineries wrapped up the 2010 harvest, doubts about the 2011 harvest lay heavy on many people’s hearts. Much of the damage will be uncertain until Spring but many areas had a lot to be thankful for over the holiday. Washington grape growers understand hard freeze. With one coming every 5-8 years, this part of the business is nearly unavoidable. […]

The rolling hills and wheat fields covered in a layer of white, the drive from Spokane to Pullman is as beautiful as it is peaceful. Just 90 minutes from Spokane, Washington State University and University of Idaho dominate the landscape of this twin town of 50,000. With college enrollment of 18,000 at WSU and 11,000 at UofI, this is a region defined by young aspiring students. Conversations of Snookie and Coors Light are more likely to be found than sips of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet. On this journey we explore the wineries of the Palouse. Merry Cellars Merry Cellars has […]

Work, wait, work, wait, work like heck, wait, work, wait, enjoy! This seems to be the order of the winemaking process. Add in a lot of cleaning and a lot of beer and you’ve got some good wine. For the last several months we’ve been following the 2010 Bacchus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Barrister winery. The 2010 vintage has kept owners Greg Lipsker and Michael White on their toes. In their 10 years as winemakers, 2010 will go down as the most challenging. The cool season kept the fruit on the vine longer than normal. Harvesting on November 4 yielded […]

A few months back I had the opportunity to explore some of the wineries of the Columbia Gorge as part of a paid familiarization trip. In a previous post I talked about the experience at Maryhill Winery, located about 100 miles East of Portland OR on the Washington side of the Columbia River. Maryhill Winery has set itself up as a premier value with a view winery. I was impressed with the consistency of the wine and sipping on a patio overlooking the Gorge is an awesome experience. What about the rest of the trip? Enter the Wine Matrix Blown […]